Garlic Smuggling Hits Sweden

Garlic is said to have originated in Central Asia. It is described as a seasoning in ancient Egypt, Greek and Indian writings.

Spanish, Portuguese and French travelers introduced it to the New World.

Now, it is grown everywhere, but can you name the country where most of the global supply of garlic comes from?

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 18 million tons of garlic are grown in this one country and it supplies more than 75 percent of the global garlic supply.

That is more than the total produced by India, South Korea, Egypt, Russia and even Gilroy, CA, the so-called “garlic capital of the world.”

China is the answer to the Geo Quiz.

All that garlic produced in China generates big profits and some of those profits are illegal. Authorities in Sweden say they have cracked a multi-million dollar garlic smuggling scheme.

Anchor Marco Weman talks to David Murphy who investigates Trade Customs Fraud for the European Anti-Fraud Office in Brussels. He explains why $13 million of the winter root vegetable was confiscated in Sweden.